


The Fire Train

by WahlBuilder



Category: Mars: War Logs
Genre: Gen, Holidays, Pre-Canon, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 17:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WahlBuilder/pseuds/WahlBuilder
Summary: Innocence and his friends go to check the preparations to the holidays.





	The Fire Train

Summer solstice celebrations have begun in Shadowlair, as usual, three days before the solstice proper. There is an ongoing work at the city termini, scrubbing, polishing, washing, painting and adorning trains for the annual ride. They will go through all main Shadow Paths of Aurora and through all major farming towns, and since they are the Lair’s trains, they are supposed to represent the old city with all grandiosity such a task calls for, while trains from other towns will come to Shadowlair to do the same.

The central terminus draws the most of attention, with the workers barely holding a cheerful crowd away from the main attraction—the Fire Train.

‘Do you think they’ll light it right up like last year?’ Innocence avoids a jab to the ribs accompanying the question and eyes the great behemoth critically. At least those parts of it that he can see over and between bodies. The Fire Train—actually, the locomotive _Dreadnaught_ with cars—is a blackened beauty of metal, towering in the terminus and making it smaller just with its sheer presence, blue highlights a striking contrast over surfaces, its solar panels like beautiful mirror shields. And the glowing triangle of Aurora on the front. Unlike the other trains in the terminus, _Dreadnaught_ is not decorated with ribbons or flowers or banners. The beauty is the secret held within, the one that gives it the name of the Fire Train.

‘I hope they aren’t going to blow it up like the last year,’ he murmurs, but his voice is drowned out by the cheer of the crowd when the lights are turned off in the terminus. The blue highlights glow, and the lines coming from the triangle at the front look for a moment like beams of real light.

The lights return, and the crowd cheers even louder, and Innocence has the urge to press his hands to his ears, even though he can’t help but grin.


End file.
